It is desirable and a feature of the present invention, to transport a prefabricated structure, manufactured in a factory and ready for habitation, in an intermodal shipping container, to a remote building site. It is further desirable that the construction of the prefabricated structure take place in a factory to realize considerable cost savings.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development classifies factory built housing as panelized housing, precut housing, manufactured housing and modular housing. Of interest in the present invention is modular housing, defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a factory-built home of one or more units typically using platform-frame construction. These multi-room, three-dimensional units are pre-assembled complete with trim and finishes. Upon completion at the factory, these units are shipped to the site for installation on permanent foundations (e.g. typically a concrete slab cast in place). Modular housing must comply with the building codes in the jurisdiction of their permanent foundation.
The present invention installs the module within a structural framework.